Tanzania Demographics – Population, Vital Statistics, Fertility and More
The characteristics of Tanzania demographics in terms of population include ethnicity, population density, education level, economic status, the health of the people, religious affiliations, and other factors of the population that are discussed in this article.
Tanzania demographics has a severely unequal population distribution. The majority of the population lives along the eastern coast or northern border, with the rest of the nation’s thinly populated interior. The Katavi Region has a density of 12 for every square kilometre (31/square miles), while Dar es Salaam has a density of 3,133 per sq. km (8,110/square mile). Rural areas account for around 70% of the population. However, this number has been dropping since 1967. Dar es Salaam, the country’s largest city and de facto capital, is also the country’s largest and most populous. The de jure capital of Tanzania is Dodoma, which is located in the country’s central region. However, plans to relocate government structures to Dodoma have stagnated.
There are around 125 ethnic communities in the country. The Sukuma, Chagga, Haya, and Nyamwezi peoples each have over one million members.
Tanzania demographics has over 100 distinct languages, making it the country with the most linguistic diversity in East Africa. All four African language groups are represented in Tanzania: Bantu, Khoisan, Cushitic, and Nilotic. Tanzanian official languages are English and Swahili. Swahili is a Bantu language from the Niger-Congo group. The Sandawe people use a language that is connected to the Khoe languages of Namibia and Botswana, but the Hadzabe people speak a language that is possibly a linguistic isolate, despite having comparable click sounds. The Iraqw people speak a Cushitic language. The Indian and Portuguese languages are two more languages (spoken by Mozambicans and Goans).
Although the majority of Zanzibar’s local population is from the mainland, the Shirazis are descendants of the island’s early Persian inhabitants. Non-Africans who live in Zanzibar and on the mainland make up about 1% of the population. From the 2000s to the early 2010s, the Asian community, which includes Hindus, Sikhs, Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, Goans and Parsis, shrank by half, to 50,000 on the Tanganyika mainland and about 4,000 in Zanzibar. Tanzania is home to about 70,000 Arabs and up to 20,000 Europeans (ninety per cent of whom are British). Tanzania demographics has a population of over 100,000 persons with European and Asian heritage.
Based on Tanzania demographics over 74,000 people born in the country lived in Organization for Development and Economic Cooperation nations between 1999 and 2003, with 32,630 in the UK, 19,960 in Canada, 1,714 found in Australia, 12,225 in the US, 1,180 in Hollands, and 1,012 found in Sweden.
Tanzania Population Demographics
As per the census of 2012, the total population was established at 44,928,923, up from 12,313,469 in the census of 1967, translating into a 2.9 % annual growth rate. 44.1 % of the populace was aged under 15, with 35.5 % in the age group between 15 to 35, 52.2 % in the age group of 15–64 and 3.8 % aged over 64.
Children aged under 15 made up 44.8 % of the population, as per the 2012 version of the World Population Prospects, with 52 % aged between 15–64 years and 3.1 % aged over 65.
| Population Aged over 65 | Population Aged 15 to 64 yrs (%) | Population aged below 14 (%) | Total Population | |
| 2010 | 3.1 | 52.0 | 44.8 | 44,793,000 |
| 2005 | 3.0 | 52.4 | 44.6 | 38,824,000 |
| 2000 | 2.9 | 52.3 | 44.8 | 34,021,000 |
| 1995 | 2.8 | 51.9 | 45.3 | 29,944,000 |
| 1990 | 2.7 | 51.3 | 46.0 | 25,485,000 |
| 1985 | 2.7 | 51.0 | 46.4 | 21,850,000 |
| 1980 | 2.6 | 50.8 | 46.5 | 18,687,000 |
| 1975 | 2.6 | 51.1 | 46.4 | 15,978.000 |
| 1970 | 2.5 | 51.3 | 46.2 | 13,605,000 |
| 1965 | 2.4 | 51.7 | 45.8 | 11,683,000 |
| 1960 | 2.4 | 51.8 | 45.8 | 10,074,000 |
| 1955 | 2.3 | 52.0 | 45.7 | 8,741,000 |
| 1950 | 2.2 | 51.8 | 46.0 | 7,650,000 |
Structure of the Population
Population structure as per 1 July 2013 approximations
| Age Group | Female | Male | Width | Total | 23 267 957 | 47 132 580 | 23 864623 | 100 |
| 0 to 4 | 4,121,103 | 4,191,004 | 17,64 | 8,312,107 | ||||
| 5 to 9 | 3,551,955 | 3,608,891 | 15,19 | 7,160,846 | ||||
| 10 to 14 | 2,728,687 | 2,735,494 | 11,59 | 5,464,181 | ||||
| 15 to 19 | 2,490,960 | 2,494,983 | 10,58 | 4,985,943 | ||||
| 20 to 24 | 2,160,970 | 2,179,173 | 9,21 | 4,340,143 | ||||
| 25 to 29 | 1,754,007 | 1,730,600 | 7,39 | 3,484,607 | ||||
| 30 to 34 | 1,563,083 | 1,289,114 | 6,05 | 2,852,197 | ||||
| 35 to 39 | 1,394,428 | 1,207,182 | 5,52 | 2,601,610 | ||||
| 40 to 44 | 1,088,697 | 1,032,605 | 4,50 | 2,121,302 | ||||
| 45 to 49 | 797,868 | 770,149 | 3,33 | 1,568,017 | ||||
| 50 to 54 | 629,580 | 604,621 | 2,62 | 1,234,201 | ||||
| 55 to 59 | 459,343 | 422,141 | 1,87 | 881,484 | ||||
| 60 to 64 | 387,334 | 347,602 | 1,56 | 734,938 | ||||
| 65 to 69 | 243,517 | 223,365 | 0,99 | 466,882 | ||||
| 70 to 74 | 207,795 | 179,960 | 0,82 | 387,755 | ||||
| 75 to 79 | 130,796 | 115,076 | 0,52 | 245,872 | ||||
| 80+ | 154,500 | 135,995 | 0,62 | 290,495 | ||||
| Age Group | Female | Male | Percentage | Total |
| 0 to 14 | 10,401,745 | 10,535,389 | 44.42 | 20,937,134 |
| 15 to 64 | 12,726,270 | 12,078,172 | 52.63 | 24,804,442 |
| Over 65 | 736,608 | 654,396 | 2.95 | 1,391,004 |
Vital Statistics
Tanzania Demographic Health Survey
According to the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey 2010, the mortality rate among infants in Tanzania was 51 in 2005–2010. Other important events in Tanzania have not been fully documented. The UN Population Division provided the following estimations.
| Period | Anual Deaths | Anual Live births | Anual Natural Change | CDR* | CBR* | TFR* | NC* | IMR* |
| 1950-55 | 184,000 | 402,000 | 218,000 | 22.4 | 49.0 | 6.74 | 26.6 | 153 |
| 1955-60 | 198,000 | 464,000 | 267,000 | 21.0 | 49.3 | 6.80 | 28.3 | 143 |
| 1960-65 | 218,000 | 535,000 | 322,000 | 20.1 | 49.1 | 6.80 | 29.0 | 136 |
| 1965-70 | 239,000 | 616,000 | 384,000 | 18.9 | 48.7 | 6.79 | 29.8 | 128 |
| 1970-75 | 258,000 | 709,000 | 475,000 | 17.5 | 48.0 | 6.75 | 30.5 | 119 |
| 1975-80 | 275,000 | 821,000 | 542,000 | 15.9 | 47.4 | 6.73 | 31.5 | 109 |
| 1980-85 | 307,000 | 932,000 | 633,000 | 15.2 | 46.0 | 6.55 | 30.8 | 104 |
| 1985-90 | 348,000 | 1,061,000 | 727,000 | 14.7 | 44.8 | 6.36 | 30.1 | 102 |
| 1990-95 | 423,000 | 1,197,000 | 892,000 | 15.3 | 43.2 | 6.05 | 27.9 | 102 |
| 1995-2000 | 480,000 | 1,336,000 | 815,000 | 15.0 | 41.8 | 5.75 | 26.8 | 92 |
| 2000-2005 | 492,000 | 1,522,000 | 961,000 | 13.5 | 41.8 | 5.66 | 28.3 | 77 |
| 2005-10 | 454,000 | 1,744,000 | 1,230,000 | 10.8 | 41.6 | 5.58 | 30.2 | 61 |
| 2010-15 | 1,865,000 | |||||||
| Tanzania demographic and health survey 2015 16 -20 | 2,052,000 | |||||||
| * CBR= Crude Birth Rate for every 100 *NC=natural change *CDR=Crude Death rate; TFR =Total Fertility rate (no of children each woman has); IMR= Infant Mortaluty rate | ||||||||
Deaths and Births
| Year | Live Births | Population | NC | Deaths | CDR | CBR | Rate of NC | TFR |
| 2012 | 1,694,943 | 44,928,923 | 1,138,968 | 555,975 | 5.2 | |||
| 2011 | 1,687,203 | 1,122,104 | 565,099 | |||||
| 2010 | 1,678,325 | 1,105,122 | 573,213 | |||||
| 2009 | 1,667,889 | 1,090,496 | 577,393 |
Life Expectancy
| Period | Life Expectancy (yrs) |
| 2010-15 | 62.78 |
| 2005-10 | 58.82 |
| 2000-05 | 53.65 |
| 1995-2000 | 50.06 |
| 1990-95 | 49.61 |
| 1985-90 | 50.86 |
| 1980-85 | 50.64 |
| 1975-80 | 49.90 |
| 1970-75 | 47.70 |
| 1965-70 | 45.83 |
| 1960-65 | 44.31 |
| 1955-60 | 43.03 |
| 1950-55 | 41.25 |
Population
| Region | 2012 (Population/ TFR/CBR) | 2002 (Population/ TFR/ CBR) | 1988 (Population/ TFR/ CBR) | 1978 (Population/ TFR/ CBR) | 1967 (Population/ TFR/ CBR) |
| Zanzibar | 1,303,569 / / | 981,754 /4.3/ 43 | 640,675 /6.4/ 49 | 476,111 /7.1/ 48 | 354,815/ 7.3/ 48 |
| Tanzania (Zanzibar included) | 44,928,923 / / | 33,461,849 /4.2 / 43 | 22,455,207 /5.4/ 47 | 17,036,499 /6.3/49 | 12, 313,469 /47/ 7.3 |
Births and Fertility
| Year | TFR (Total) | CBR (Total) | TFR (Urban) | CBR (Urban) | TFR (Rural) | CBR (Rural) | TFR (Zanzibar) | CBR (Zanzibar) |
| 1991-92 | 6.25 (5.57) | 42.8 | 5.14 | 42.1 | 6.59 (5.91) | 43.0 | ||
| 1996 | 5,82 (5.1) | 40.8 | 4.11 (3.5) | 36.3 | 6.34 (5.5) | 41.9 | ||
| 1999 | 5.55 (4.8) | 41.4 | 3.16 (2.9) | 34.4 | 6.48 (5.5) | 43.5 | ||
| 2004-05 | 5.7 (4.9) | 42.4 | 3.6 (3.1) | 34.6 | 6.5 (5.6) | 44.8 | 5.3 (4.6) | 38.0 |
| 2010 | 5.4 (4.7) | 38.1 | 3.7 (3.3) | 35.0 | 6.1 (5.3) | 39.0 | 5.1 (4.8) | 35.9 |
| 2015-16 | 5.2 (4.5) | 37.2 | 3.8 (3.4) | 35.1 | 6.0 (5.1) | 38.1 | 5.1 (4.6) | 36.3 |
| 2017 | 4.9 | 35.5 | 3.5 | 31.0 | 5.7 | 37.3 | 4.5 | 33.7 |
Tanzania’s Fertility Rate
Surveys (TDHS) and Censuses measure fertility rates at different times. These fertility rates were calculated by TDHS surveys: 6.3 (1991 to 1992), 5.8 (in 1996), 5.7 (2004 to 2005), 5.4 (in 2010), and 6.3 according to the 2002 Census.
| Region | 2017 | 2006-2009 | 1998 | 1978 | 1967 |
| National Total | 4.9 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 6.3 | 7.3 |
| Dodoma (Capital) | 6.0 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 7.6 | |
| Kilimanjaro | 3.4 | 5.8 | 7.5 | 8.9 | |
| Arusha | 3.2 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.5 | |
| Mara | 6.4 | 5.9 | 6.9 | 8.0 | |
| Mwanza | 6.0 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 8.1 | |
| Kagera | 4.7 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 7.5 | |
| Shinyanga | 5.5 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 8.7 | |
| Kigoma | 5.7 | 6.5 | 7.2 | 6.6 | |
| Rukwa | 5.7 | 6.2 | 6.1 | – | |
| Tabora | 6.9 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 6.7 | |
| Singida | 7.4 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 6.3 | |
| Mbeya | 4.7 | 4.7 | 6.3 | 7.8 | |
| Iringa | 4.5 | 4.9 | 6.3 | 7.8 | |
| Ruvuma | 3.7 | 5.0 | 6.1 | 7.1 | |
| Mtwara | 3.3 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 5.7 | |
| Lindi | 3.9 | 4.6 | 5.4 | – | |
| Dar es Salaam | 2.8 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 5.0 | |
| Pwani | 3.8 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 5.8 | |
| Morogoro | 3.7 | 4.3 | 6.5 | 6.2 | |
| Tanga | 4.6 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 7.7 | |
| Songwe | 5.4 | – | – | – | |
| Katavi | 6.7 | – | – | – | |
| Geita | 6.9 | – | – | – | |
| Simiyu | 7.6 | – | – | – | |
| Njombe | 4.2 | – | – | – | |
| Manyara | 6.0 | – | – | – | |
| Tanzania Mainland | 4.9 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 6.3 | 7.3 |
| South Pemba | 5.5 | 7.6 | 8.2 | – | |
| North Pemba | 6.3 | 6.9 | 8.3 | – | |
| Urban West | 3.6 | 5.2 | 6.1 | – | |
| South Unguja | 3.2 | 6.5 | 6.2 | – | |
| North Unguja | 4.5 | 7.0 | 7.1 | – | |
| Tanzania Zanzibar | 4.5 | 6.4 | 7.1 | 7.3 |
More Demographic Statistics
Tanzania’s population figures for 2019 taken from the World Population Review are as follows:
- 1 birth per 14 seconds
- 1 death per minute
- 1 net migrant per 13 minutes
- Net gain of 1 person per 17 seconds
Unless otherwise stated, all demographic data is taken from the CIA World Factbook.
Population
55,451,343 est. July 2018
48,261,942 est. July 2013
Age Structure (est. 2018)
| Years | Percentage | Female | Male |
| 0 to 14 | 43.4 | 11,908,654 | 12,159,482 |
| 15 to 24 | 20.03 | 5,543,788 | 5,561,922 |
| 25 to 54 | 30.02 | 8,284,229 | 8,361,460 |
| 55 to 64 | 3.51 | 1,074,480 | 872,601 |
| Over 64 | 3.04 | 978,094 | 706,633 |
Median Age in years
Female: 18.2
Male: 17.6
Total: 17.9, ranked 215 in the world (est. 2018)
Female: 17.6
Male: 17.0
Total: 17.3 (est. 2013)
Birth Rate
Ranked 19th in the world
35.3 births per 1000
Death rate
Ranked 112 in the world
7.5 deaths per 1000
Total Fertility Rate
Ranked 20th in the world
4.71 children per woman
Population Growth rate
2.74 percent (est 2018)
Ranked 20th in the world
Mean age of the mother at 1st birth
19.8 years (est. 2015/2016
Median age 25 to 29
Prevalence rate of Contraceptives
38.4 percent (2015/2016)
Net migration Rate
Ranked 127th in the world
-0.5 migrants per 1000
Dependency ratios
Elderly ratio: 6 (est. 2015)
Youth ratio: 87.4 (est. 2015)
Potential support ratio: 16.6 (est.2015)
Total ratio: 93.4 (est. 2015)
Urbanization
Urbanization rate: 5.22 percent yearly change rate (est. 2015-2020)
Urban population: 33.8 percent of the population (2018)
The mainland consists of 99 percent African communities. (95 percent of which are Bantu comprising of over 130 tribes). Another 1 percent comprised of European, Asian, and Arab groups. Zanzibar is comprised of African, Arab, mixed African and Arab. About 100,000 persons residing in Tanzania come from Asia or Europe.
Tanzania Religion Demographics
Muslim 35.2 percent, Christian 61.4 percent, Ancient religion 1.8 percent, Unaffiliated 1.4 percent, other 0.2 percent. (est. 2010)
The Tanzania religious demographics further show that Zanzibar is nearly totally Muslim
Sex Ratio
| Age | Male/female |
| At birth | 1.03 |
| 0 to 14 | 1.02 |
| 15 to 54 | 1.00 |
| 55 to 64 | 0.75 |
| Over 65 | 0.76 |
| Total population | 0.99 est. 2013 |
Life expectancy as at birth
Female: 64.6 (est. 2018)
Male: 61.6
Total population: 63.1
Male: 59.48
Female: 62.09
Total population: 60.76
HIV/AIDS
Rates of HIV infection:
- 5% overall, with 3.8% of men and 6.2% of women
Persons living with HIV/AIDS as at 2017
- 5 million
Deaths (est. 2017)
- 32,000
Languages
Swahili or Kiswahili or Kiunguja (Zanzibar) (Official language)
English (Official language)
Arabic (Commonly used in Zanzibar)
Literacy
Female: 73.1 percent
Male: 83.2 percent
Total population: 77.9 percent (est. 2015)
Female: 62.2 percent
Male: 77.5 percent
Total population: 69.4 percent (est.2003)
School life expectancy in years (from primary up to tertiary education)
Female: 8
Male: 8
Total: 8
Unemployment among youths aged 15 to 24
Female: 4.6 percent
Male: 3.1 percent
Total: 3.9 percent
Religions
Tanzania demographics based on religion consists majorly of Muslims and Chrisitians. Since 1967, questions on religious affiliation have been omitted in census questionnaires because the numerical correlation between adherents of these two religions is considered politically sensitive. For several years, estimations have been made that Christianity, Islam, and traditional faiths each account for around one third of the total population. Because traditional religionists are expected to be in the minority, a variety of opposing estimates have been produced, giving either side a significant proportion or attempting to indicate equal shares.
According to the Pew Report Christianity and Islam (2010), 30 percent of the population is Christian and 36 percent is Muslim.
Hindus, animists, Buddhists, and unaffiliated people make up the rest of the population. The majority of Christians in the nation are Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists or Lutherans, while there are also Pentecostal congregations, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican Christians. The majority of Muslims in Tanzania are Sunni, although there are also Ibadi, Bohora, Shia, and Ahamadiya Muslims. Muslims concentrations are found along old trade routes along the coast and on the mainland.
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